GUT FEELING SIMON STODDART’S

My views - not United's - on semi-pro football and occasionally, other topics.

UNDER THE LIGHTS ..........

Midweek fixtures are rather more common than we experienced in Isthmian SE. 42 games as opposed to 38 - so here we are with Potters Bar Town hopefully having negotiated the QE Bridge without any interference from airborne eco weirdoes. Potters Bar are another of those sides flirting with the top of the division which is still settling down.

semi-pro game in the south, the more odd it seems that Hastings Utd Mark 1 and Hastings Town played so much Southern League football. Heading west for games at Dorchester and Weymouth would see us going past Worthing and Bognor Regis. In those days I didn't mind the far flung Southern League but the structure of the game definitely baffled me.

The FA had it's tortuous ways - which dragged out longer than expected because of the disruptions of Covid - as we recall, of getting the semipro game revamped and it is now far better.

Bishops Stortford Result Put Right

If a game ever warranted a 0-0, last Saturday's did. The two sides cancelled each other out. The initial positive of a disappointing afternoon was Lloyd Dawes starting but after 40 minutes he was off. And getting on the end of a corner ultimately settled the game in the visitor's favour.

All more than put right with successive away wins at Wingate & Finchley and Herne Bay. Aggregate of 7-0. 6 points and up to 6th in a fluid league table.

Work interfered so Footballwebpages and Twitter to the rescue once again. As it will have to this evening. Should be ok for the FA Trophy tie against Burgess Hill here on Saturday.

There you go - Potters Bar Town - red symbolare on the extremities of the Isthmian zone and this evening will be one of their longer journeys. Is this the first time we've met? Had a look through our previous Premier Division seasons and can't find them.

Like our previous Pilot Field opposition, Bishop's Stortford - Potters Bar have been shuffled sideways to and from the Southern League. The more I look at the structure - past and present - of the

Small World

Indeed it is. In my last offering I included that article about my colleague's under £100 flight to, and football in, Italy. Luke used to be a teacher over north Kent way and amongst his pupils in his science class was Bailey Akehurst who started this season on loan here from Gillingham…….

Mo Munden, who we loved to hate. This was at Cheriton Road, 2002-3, United lost 1-0 to Folkestone Invicta, an evening of huge disappointment as it nigh on confirmed relegation. Despite that, U"s fans hung on at the end to shake Mo's hand as he was calling it a day. Horrible evening, we knew we were all but relegated, Mo had given us lots of stick down the years but a nice touch to see out the end of his career.

And to wrap up the small world tale - Geoff lives in Angeles City about a 15 minute trike ride from Phillies Sports Grill & Bar, my favourite haunt for refreshments where I compile Gut Feeling. I shall have a San Miguel or three with him in the next few weeks - I fly out on November 11.

And the world gets smaller on a larger scale. Twitter and Facebook have their uses and spring up all manner of surprises. No more so than Geoff Coe who I found on Twitter. Initially talking about Millwall and the difficulties of making it to games as he lives out in the Philippines - my home from home.

Anyway, replied to his tweet and in the subsequent exchange it transpired that before he went overseas he'd neen involved with Fisher Athletic - Press Officer, Programmme editor and PA announcer plus PLUS sorting out away travel for Ashford when he lived there! Turns out he's well acquainted with Mo Munden who you long term followers will recall keeping goal for Dover Athletic, Fisher Athletic and Folkestone Invicta. One of semi-pro football's great characters we last encountered 20 seasons ago.

20 Years On

Stuart Playford deserved a special mention after United's spectacular 5-0 win at Kettering in that 4th Qualifying Round FA Cup replay....... This was duly posted in the Ghost fanzine

Win tonight and that gets United right in the mix. To be in that position having just come up - yes, we'd have all settled for that. Go well U's!

22 Oct League Round Up by: Ian Townsend

Stortford stay top!

Bishop’s Stortford, seven matches unbeaten and with a rather incredible six clean sheets from their last six matches, welcomed Carshalton Athletic, the Robins having increased their firepower recently with the arrival of Alex Akrofi from Aveley. The Blues got their noses in front five minutes before the break through Mark Haines, who headed home to delight the majority of the four hundred and eighty one in attendance, and the home faithful would have been further delighted when Ollie Cook saw red for the Robins soon after the restart. Two-nil was the score with ten minutes left, Anthony Church doubling home advantage, and that was that.

Potters Bar Town hadn’t managed a win from their previous three games and were hopeful of changing that record as they travelled to Corinthian-Casuals - and they were actually in Tolworth after Casuals got the go-ahead to reopen their storm damaged King George’s Field for the first time in a month. The hosts, without a win since the opening day, fell behind on nineteen minutes, Jacques Kpohomouh opening the scoring and baffling our autocorrect, but Casuals levelled a quarter of an hour later, Misha Djemali delighting those in pink and brown. Six minutes from time the Scholars got a winner, Tyler Christian-Law ensuring that his side stay second - and Miles Mitchell-Nelson's late red card didn't spoil their party.

Third place Enfield Town travelled to fourth place Cray Wanderers in our match of the day. The sides had contrasting fortunes prior to this match, the Towners without a win in three whilst Wands hit four in midweek and had taken seven points from their last nine - but after a closely contended first half the visitors went ahead on forty nine minutes, Marcus Wyllie opening the scoring. The equaliser came through Dan Bassett on the hour, and that was that - a result which saw the Towners slip to fifth and Wands to seventh. on

Aveley had a new signing in place as they welcomed Haringey Borough - defender Siju Odelusi signing on. The Millers had slipped a little, with only one win from their previous four league matches, whilst Borough had only one defeat from their last nine league matches as they headed to Parkside - but it was the hosts who struck first and early, Kenny Aileru with his third goal of the campaign. It took until ten minutes from time until we had another goal, but it also went to the hosts, George Sykes making it two-nil- and they were more comfortable by the end, Garrett Kelly adding a third just before full time.

Hornchurch, in sixth at start of play, welcomed Horsham, a place behind. The Urchins had won four consecutive league matches before knockout football got in the way, and they went ahead in this one on twenty nine minutes, Liam Nash with his ninth of the season. The Hornets, three games unbeaten coming into this one, were level just before the break courtesy of Tom Richards, but level only for three minutes and the time they took to eat their oranges, Charlie Stimson restoring home advantage. Hornchurch made quite sure of three points when Jack Munns added a third from the spot, five minutes from time. Five hundred and fifty four watched on.